There are typically two variations how a Payer (e.g., individual or company) makes a credit card payment to pay an invoice from a supplier or merchant (Payee). The Payer may call the merchant and give the remittance information along with the credit card number over the phone. Or the Payer logs in to the merchant's web-site and use the merchant's web-based credit card payment interface to make the payment. Both are very time consuming and cumbersome tasks. Furthermore, the current process does not allow for consolidated updates of the Payer's accounts payable (AP) system. The Payer must wait several days or even weeks to receive a settlement file from their issuing bank, which is difficult to upload to the AP system owing to non-matching Payee reference identifications (IDs) between the AP system and the interchange (e.g., Visa or MasterCard Merchant ID).
There is growing motivation for Payers to use credit cards over the traditional electronic payment methods, which include converting the electronic payment request to a physical check, using an Automated Clearing House (ACH), wire, and other electronic payments. However, current credit card products and payment methods currently used in the market are not conducive for easily facilitating this form of payment and are impeding the growth of the AP market for this payment type.